Newton-native and veteran Waverly Golf Course Superintendent Doug Snook was inducted into the Iowa Golf Hall of Fame at a special ceremony and reception held May 21st at the Embassy Club West in West Des Moines.
Snook, who has been a golf course superintendent for over 40 years, is among only a handful of Iowa golf course superintendents to be honored by induction into the prestigious Hall of Fame.
The personable Snook has been the golf course superintendent at the Waverly Golf Course since 1981. During his tenure he has served on the board of directors for both the Iowa Golf Course Superintendents and the Iowa Turfgrass Institute. He was president of the IGCSA in 1991 and president of the ITI in 2000.
Snook has received numerous awards and honors during his career, including being named the Iowa Golf Course Superintendent of the Year in 1986 and again in 2001 after a major renovation project at the Waverly Golf Course transformed it into one of the best municipal courses in the state, a fact supported by the course’s designation as the Iowa Golf Association’s 18-Hole Course of the Year in 2003.
In 1996, Snook received the Charles Calhoun Writing Award for articles published in the Reporter, a monthly publication of the IGCSA. He received the IGCSA’s Distinguished Service Award in 1997 and the ITI’s Meritorious Service Award in 2005. He has been a certified golf course superintendent in the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America for the past 24 years.
Reflecting on his many years as a superintendent, Snook said he has always enjoyed working on the golf course and being a part of the golf course superintendent fraternity.
“It’s a great group of professionals that, even though we are in direct competition with each other, you know you can always count on your fellow superintendents in a pinch, good times and bad,” he said.
Snook has especially enjoyed mentoring young people that share his passion for the game of golf and the venue where the game is played. Snook’s enthusiasm, passion and dedication have helped shape the future of his chosen profession in Iowa. And who knows, maybe one day he himself will have the pleasure of watching one of his protégés honored for demonstrating the same skill and dedication that earned him a seat in the Iowa Golf Hall of Fame.
Doug is the son of Howard and Helen Snook of Newton.